Marry Me
by Wicked42
Summary: Ichigo x Rukia. Ichigo finally gets the guts to ask Rukia to marry him, and what does she do? Laugh, of course. Chapter 2 up-Byakuya's reaction to their oh-so-happy news.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't know why, but for some reason the idea of Rukia and Ichigo getting married, while cute, is sort of out there for me. I mean, it'd obviously have to be later in life, but Rukia doesn't exactly strike me as the type to settle down and raise a family.

Anyway, here's a proposal scene for those who think it could happen. XD

Enjoy!

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**Marry Me, Damn It**

Rukia had never given much thought to marriage. It wasn't an underlying desire that she hid away because she thought it could never happen. She honestly never cared about the idea; it was more of a human ceremony anyway.

Besides, she was busy with her soul reaper duties and didn't exactly have the time for a formal dinner and a diamond ring. On top of that, marriage would do nothing but imply to her superiors that she'd been involved in inter-office dating, and she was pretty sure that wasn't allowed in the Gotei 13.

In addition to the work issue, Rukia hadn't ever found anyone she'd _want_ to marry. She wasn't exactly the most desirable girl at the Shinigami Academy, what with her new surname and the family she now represented. She'd been close to Kaien, sure, but she'd loved him as a mentor and friend, nothing else. And even in the 13th division, she'd never gotten more serious than a third date.

So, when Ichigo knelt down in front of her one night, pulled out a small black box, and uttered those four innocent words, she couldn't help it.

She laughed.

His face screwed up in horror and embarrassment, and she actually felt bad for a moment. She hastened to reassure him that it was the _idea_ of it all, not that she didn't love him enough to tie the knot. After all, who ever heard of a shinigami and a living human getting married?

Ichigo countered that easily. No one had ever heard of a shinigami and a living human _dating_, either. That hadn't stopped them for the last two years.

Rukia conceded to that point, admitting silently that they'd always been a strange anomaly as far as couples went. Ichigo proceeded to expand on her objection, insisting that if it was such an issue for anyone, he could always kill himself and proceed to Soul Society, where he'd become an actual shinigami and therefore render this point moot.

She grabbed his shirt and forced him up, growling that if he even _thought_ about that idea again, she'd take him to the brink of death, heal him, and repeat.

He broke her hold and showed her the ring again, repeating a less formal variation of his question, anger filtering in his voice now. She took the box from him, examining the ring. It was very pretty, she supposed, with white gold and three diamonds centered on it. He'd had it inscribed, and she removed it from the box to read what it said.

_Through life and death, my love._

She bit her lip and looked back up at him, her heart melting just a little. He refused to meet her gaze, instead staring through the trees of the park while his cheeks flared. She smiled wryly and took a breath, giving him back the ring.

He looked down at her in wounded shock, but took it with shaking fingers. He was about to pocket it and crawl into a ditch somewhere to die when Rukia thrust out her left hand. Ichigo paused, taking hold of her fingers, and stared down into her violet eyes.

He asked if she was sure.

She responded that she'd never been more certain of anything in her life.

With a quirk of his lips, he gently slid the ring onto her fourth finger, placing a kiss on her knuckles as he dropped her hand. She held it near her face, admiring the new adornment. Then she met Ichigo's gaze again, giving him a slow smile.

Rukia had never cared about marriage. But she loved Ichigo, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

A/N: Again, I just can't see Rukia as the type to squeal and give Ichigo a hug after he proposes. She'd be much more reserved, I think. But that's just my opinion.

Hope you liked this. :) Not sure if I'm going to do a sequel of their wedding or not. I guess it depends on how many people ask me to continue.

Have a fantastic day!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This was going to be a oneshot, but I was reading the reviews and decided it'd be fun to write Byakuya's reaction to their announcement. This picks up almost immediately after chapter 1 ends. Enjoy! :)

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**Marry Me, Damn It**

**Part 2--Byakuya  
**

Ichigo hadn't thought much about marriage. He'd always assumed it would happen someday, that one morning he'd wake up and look beside him and see his beautiful wife sleeping in his arms. That was the ending. But he never thought about the journey.

When Rukia had declared them an official couple, Ichigo had felt a mixture of emotions. He'd been pleased, certainly, that she'd enjoyed their few dates enough to want more. He'd been irritated that she'd uttered those words before he'd had a chance to ask her himself. He'd been terrified that tomorrow he'd screw it up and lose everything he'd worked towards for years.

Two years later, he was still terrified of losing her. So he protected her with his sword and claimed her as his own with a ring to the finger. Hollows, Arrancar, and other men didn't stand a chance against a Kurosaki, of that he was sure.

Then she thrust the ring back at him, and he was forced to consider a third possibility—Rukia leaving of her own will.

Ichigo decided he didn't like that option at _all_.

But two minutes later they were grinning stupidly at each other, his ring on her finger and his claim officially staked. He was just about to start dancing around like the idiot she assured him he was, but then she spoke, the first sentence as Ichigo's fiancée.

And Ichigo's mood immediately turned sour, a scowl crossing his face as he met her gaze squarely, stating that her arrogant asshole of a brother wouldn't care if she was getting married, so why bother telling him?

Rukia rolled her eyes and dropped her left hand, though her thumb still ran over the smooth underside of the ring. He was just afraid to face his future in-law, Rukia taunted.

His brows knitted together in irritation as he countered that of course Byakuya didn't scare him. As if. But that didn't alter the fact that the 6th division captain would probably lose his stoic expression as he _tried_—emphasis on try—to pound Ichigo into the ground.

Rukia highly doubted he would do that.

Ichigo stared at her incredulously, wondering out loud if she was really that blind. The man had hated Ichigo from the moment they met, and that hate only intensified two years prior, when Rukia had declared them a couple.

She didn't believe him, but knew that they'd keep arguing about it until the sun came up. So, to end the fight before it began, she went toe to toe with him and said, simply, prove it.

Ichigo couldn't turn down a challenge. With a huff, he demanded she summon a Hell Butterfly to open a Senkaimon immediately. After all, why waste time? Byakuya should know of the engagement as soon as possible.

With a smirk of triumph, she opened the gate, laughing outright when he grabbed her hand and towed her through it. They wasted no time flash-stepping to the Kuchiki home, and Rukia stopped just outside of her brother's study. With a go-ahead motion, she inclined her head towards the closed door, a slight encouragement to keep Ichigo from hesitating. He squared his shoulders and threw open the door, taking a step inside.

Byakuya glanced up when he entered, narrowing cold eyes when Ichigo boldly exclaimed his most recent action concerning Rukia. When Ichigo finished talking—it didn't matter what the older man said or thought, they were getting married anyway, but Ichigo thought it fair to provide warning before the wedding—Byakuya slowly got to his feet. Rukia, thinking that maybe Ichigo had been right about a fight, stepped in to stand beside Ichigo, just in case.

But Byakuya simply walked over to them, silent as a ghost trailing over a grave. The shinigami captain stopped before Ichigo, steel grey meeting molten brown. Ichigo tensed, ready to defend his declaration to the death, but Byakuya looked away from him to focus on his adopted sister.

He wanted to know if she was happy and willing to commit to something like _him_. Ichigo bristled at being referred to as a "thing."

Rukia wrapped her arm around Ichigo's and nodded firmly, answering that she'd never been more sure of anything in her life. Her fiancé smiled at the familiar words, almost smug at her quick confirmation to her brother's question.

Byakuya was silent for a minute, looking between the two of them. Eventually, he turned and headed back to his desk. Over his shoulder, he calmly told her not to adopt the Kurosaki name. After all, it held little credence compared to Kuchiki.

Rukia nodded, assuring him that she had no intention of relinquishing her surname, and thanked him for his time. Byakuya waved a hand of dismissal, but Ichigo wouldn't move.

He wanted to know what the hell was wrong with Kurosaki.

Byakuya simply snorted and went back to writing letters.

Rukia, sensing now that it was _Ichigo_ who would start the fight, reached up and grabbed his ear before he could take a step towards the 6th division captain. With her classic don't-give-me-any-crap-Ichigo glare, she pulled him out the door and away from the Kuchiki house.

He fumed the entire way back to the human world, and she finally stopped to suggest that perhaps, if he was a little less stubborn and actually let her fight once in a while, instead of tackling the problem head-on to "protect" her, she'd consider hyphenating his last name. Maybe.

Ichigo huffed but settled for that when she sealed her almost-promise with a quick kiss.

Marriage was a constant goal in Ichigo's life. The journey had always been fuzzy, but he knew the destination perfectly. And with Rukia playfully punching his shoulder as he complained, Ichigo couldn't think of a better way to reach his happy ending.

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A/N: Hopefully that was relatively amusing for you guys. :)


End file.
